Transcript Slide 1

A simple answer to a complex problem?
New York Times Annual Issue
Organic Food, should you join The rebellion ?
New York Times Advertisement: Why buy organic?
Top 10 reasons to buy organic
www.vegan recipes.com
1.) Protect future generations
From what?
chronic vs genetic exposure, toxin v mutagen
2.) Prevent soil erosion –til vs no til agriculture,
alluvial plains
3.) Protect water quality – fertilizer run off in
conventional ag. vs biotech vs lawns (“dead” ponds)
4.) Save energy – indeed, 12 % of our fossil fuel
goes to agriculture. Also transportation and farm
5.) Keep chemicals off your plate “fear of
unknown” – pesticide issue – prevalence vs exposure, NAS:
might cause additional 1.4 million cases cancer (~0.5% of pop.)
More reasons:
6.) Protect
farms worker health
“old issue”
in the U.S. ( 1 million vs 848) Effect on foreign
workers? Their economies?
7.) Help small farmers – largest seller of
“organic”? “Farm market v Store”
8.) Support a true economy “subsidies”
the car – the tragedy of the commons
9.) Promote biodiversity – maybe, but
wouldn’t organic farmers want high yield
crops?
10.) Better quality – compared to what?
Better quality (?)
Cantaloupe recall – “local” Jensen Farms, 300,000
cases, $4.5 million (Whole Foods has 7 hour rule.)
• Buyer (WalMart, Cosco) dictates type of audit,
(listeria?). tension between Cheap Local Safe;
shortages?
• In this case, not a horrible facility, but not “Best
Practices” either
Egg recall – Larry Schultz Organic Farm
Michael Pollan –
The Omnivore’s Dilemma-
His arguments against organic
• Sells by prosaic vision – milk from cows living in a
naturally planted family farm. ‘Whole Foods sells
authentic experiences where one returns to the utopian
past while retaining positive aspects of modern life.’
• Organic food is industrialized. Two corporate
growers account for 80% of organic lettuce in U.S. Big
retailers can’t deal with small farms.
• Born as response to “corporate” has become corporate.
• $11 billion industry.
• (Some) organic milk is industrial -comes from cows
that never see grass, confined, machine milked,
ultrapasteurized in high tech packaging to extend shelf
life.
Better Nutrition?
More reasons:
11. Animal welfare – sometimes yes,
sometimes no.
12. Sense of control sometimes yes,
sometimes no.
13. Sense of community especially local
farms
Yes, that’s more than “Top Ten”
“The chicken factory” (youtube)
(some students may find this clip disturbing)
the chicken factory
Cage Free: a look at a hen’s life on
the Country Hen farm (New York Times)
Country Hen farm - Details
•18 million eggs a year, 67,000
hens.
• A hen will lay an egg every 26
hours
•One hen will eat a quarter pound
of food a day.
•Country hen produces 74 tons of
• food/wk
•6600 Rhode Island Red per barn
• “autonest” enclosures
“Free range” chickens
The Organic Food Production Act of
1990
• Went into effect 2002.
• Governs the growth process, not the
product. (contrast with FDA
and GEMs).
• Defines “Organically Grown,” NOT attributes of
the food.
(analogy to Kosher).
No evidence of superior microbial safety or
nutrition
Like Kosher, “Organic” governs the process, not the product.
The Law for Organic
•No GMO
•No irradiation
•No synthetic feeds, hormones, pesticides, other
substances Unless on list!
•No plastic pellets
•No animal byproducts (Non issue since 1997)
•No antibiotics
•No shit
Crops must abide for three years, poultry day 2, cattle 3rd
trimester.
The “Allowed” List (controversy)
Contains:
- synthetic pesticides: strychnine
- chemicals: alcohols, chlorine materials (Calcium or
sodium hypochlorite), chlorine dioxide, hydrogen
peroxide, boric acid, sulfates, sodium silicate, etc
- antibiotics: streptomycin, terramycin and
tetracycline (to control fire blight in apples)
Organic Labeling
1.) “100% Organic”
Means all the
ingredients are organic.
The USDA logo can be
used on the package
4.) Ingredient Panel only
Means less than 70% of
the ingredients are
organic. The word
“organic” can only be
used in the ingredient
panel.
2.) “Organic”
Means 95% of the
ingredients are
organic. The USDA
logo can be used on
the package
3.) “Made with organic”
More than 70% but less
than 95% of the
ingredients are organic.
The USDA logo cannot
be used on the package
Organic Labeling
Demand for organic food exceeds supply
The Associated Press
Home News Tribune
July 7, 2006
• “Clif Bar needed 85,000 lbs of organic almonds but nation’s
crop was spoken for.”
• “America’s appetite for organic food is so strong that supply
can’t keep up with demand”
•“Growth in sales of organic food has been 15% to 21% each
year, compared with 2% to 4% for total food sales
•“Wal-mart Stores Inc. will double its organic offerings”
Definition of “natural”
Definition of “local”
Definition of “fresh”
Food companies shift to “Natural”
Introduction of new products
FDA responds to Judicial request,
September 2010
•Rule making needs to be transparent and therefore
takes a long time.
•Not a priority.
•Consumers should read the label.
Nature’s Perfect Food: An Argument from
Michael Potter (www.amberwaves.org)
“Today, we face a more permanent adulteration of out food”
1.) “…(The) enormous burden on companies like Eden Foods to acquire non genetically
polluted organic food, is the most serious threat to the freedom of humanity from
corporate exploitation.” The most serious threat to freedom? Diamond mines,
The civil War, “Banana Republics,” economic oppression in developing
countries.
2.) “For a frightening look at the results of man introducing designed-for-profit DNA
into the environment, one need only look at the deplorable condition of the salmon
species and the rapid disappearance of all wild salmon.” dams
3.) “Genetic science itself is not bad. It has the potential for creating a new silver bullet
for medicines of value. Tampering with the DNA of our food supply is a another
thing? and the overwhelming majority of the people on Earth do not want it done.”
4.) “For nature to repair this requires thousands of year; but, we are “the salt of the
Earth” and the magic of man is that we can repair this damage using organic
techniques in three to five years” Persistent pesticides persist.
So, figure it out for yourself!
I am not “anti-organic.
I support local organic producers
because they:
• help local economy.
• preserve local farms.
• provide a sense of control.
• provide connection to the land.
• provide opportunity for community.